Crack Tip Opening Displacement Research Articles

Nanocomposite fracture analysis: Aligned Fe3O4-GNP nanoplatelets’ effects on KIC, GIC, CTODc, and fracture mechanisms in epoxy matrices

Epoxy nanocomposites are crucial in aerospace, enhancing structural performance, reducing weight, and improving fuel efficiency across various applications. They ensure safety, reliability, and optimal performance in critical aerospace systems. Optimizing fracture properties like crack growth resistance (KIC), critical stress intensity factor (GIC), and critical crack tip opening displacement (CTODc), is vital for safety, durability, and innovation, especially in epoxy nanocomposites under extreme conditions. This study examines how random Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) and aligned Fe3O4-GNP nanoplatelets impact the fracture resistance of epoxy nanocomposites. It analyzes various fracture properties and crack propagation mechanisms following ASTM D5045-99 standards for CT specimen toughness tests using a COD gauge, focusing on nanoparticle alignment and wt% loading effects. Neat epoxy has a KIC of 0.94 MPa m1/2, increasing to 1.20 with 0.600 wt% GNP. Aligned Fe3O4-GNP peaks at 1.49. the baseline GIC starts at 209 J/m2 and rises to 301 J/m2 with 0.600 wt% GNP, and notably to 419J/m2 with aligned Fe3O4-GNP. Aligned Fe3O4-GNP significantly enhances fracture properties by modifying stress distribution at primary crack fronts through mechanisms such as deflection, branching, and twisting. These findings offer crucial insights for improving epoxy nanocomposites in aerospace, ensuring increased safety, reliability, and performance in critical components.

Enhancement fracture behavior of sustainable cementitious composites using synergy between fly ash (FA) and nanosilica (NS) in the assessment based on digital image processing procedure

The present study has investigated the strength properties and fracture toughness of concrete composites reinforced 5 % nanosilica (NS) by adding different contents of fly ash (FA), i.e.: 0 %, 15 % and 25 %. The evaluated fracture toughness, under three-point flexural loads, were critical stress intensity factor (KIcS) and critical crack tip opening displacement (CTODc). Digital image processing procedure was used in this studies. It was stated that both the 5 % addition of NS and the total share of the nanomodifier with FA grains in the composition of the concrete mix significantly improve the strength properties of concretes, as well as their fracture toughness under first model of cracking in linear and non-linear terms. Moreover, it was observed that in concrete containing only NS the fracture process was clearly delayed and relatively short, whereas crack patterns in this composite were almost perfectly straight with significant crack width. On the other hand, in concretes icorporating NS + FA crack patterns were strongly curved (frequently with branching) with few microcracks in the vicinity of the main cracks. Concretes including FA and NS can be used in the execution of specific types of reinforced concrete structures subjected to fatigue or dynamic loads, e.g. bridge structures or industrial buildings.

Assessing fracture toughness of vintage and modern X65 pipeline steels under in situ electrochemical hydrogen charging using advanced testing methodology

The susceptibility of pipeline steels to hydrogen embrittlement, which can significantly impair mechanical performance, especially fracture toughness, is a critical issue in infrastructure integrity. This study evaluates the fracture toughness of modern and vintage API X65 steels under cathodic polarization (CP) conditions, employing methods such as rising displacement testing, stepwise rising constant load testing, and constant load testing. Tearing crack growth was detected at crack tip opening displacements (CTODs) of 0.032 to 0.055 mm while subsequent crack arrest under constant force loading was observed with CTOD thresholds of 0.148 mm and 0.255 mm for modern and vintage X65, respectively. Electron channelling contrast imaging demonstrated that arrested cracks in both steels exhibited reduced plasticity and a higher propensity for crack branching compared to propagating cracks. These findings highlight the need for tailored strategies to mitigate the effects of hydrogen embrittlement in pipeline materials and underscore the differences in damage tolerance between steel generations.

Generalization of crack growth mechanisms under isothermal and thermomechanical fatigue by COD and ERR parameters

An experimental-computational study of the crack opening displacement (COD) was performed to evaluate the ability of this parameter through the hysteresis loop area and energy release rate (ERR) to characterise fatigue crack growth under isothermal and thermomechanical conditions. To this end, a range of experimental crack growth tests were carried out including isothermal fatigue (IF), creep-fatigue interaction (CFI), in-phase (IP), and out-of-phase (OOP) thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). The crack growth experimental results in terms of COD and ERR were interpreted based on multi-physics finite element analyses of the stress–strain and displacement fields performed by incorporating Maxwell 3D, Fluent, and the transient structural modules of ANSYS. As a result of measurements and computations, the COD on the outer surface of the SENT specimen at the location of the original notch was found to be directly related to the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD). To gain insight into the fatigue crack growth mechanism operating under isothermal and TMF conditions, the fracture surfaces of all the tested specimens were examined using a scanning electron microscope to compare the morphology and changes in the dominant failure mechanisms. It was found that propagating cracks under isothermal and thermomechanical conditions interact with the microstructure of the material, and supporting fractography evidenced subtle differences in fracture mechanisms in terms of COD and ERR parameters. The relationship between the experimentally determined energy release rate and degradation function in the fatigue phase-field fracture methodology is discussed.

A modified model for calculating crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) considering fracture process zone (FPZ) in rock

A new CTOD calculation method is investigated in this study, considering the FPZ and the effective Young’s modulus. The calculated CTOD values from four theoretical models are compared with the measured CTOD values from the three-point beam experiments, and the differences between them are analyzed. The measured CTOD consists of two parts: (1) the displacement generated by the elastic–plastic deformation in the crack tip region, and (2) the displacement generated by micro-damage in the FPZ. CTOD value caused by micro-damage in the FPZ accounts for 81–92% of the overall CTOD. Thus, the FPZ and the effective Young’s modulus are introduced to modify the models for calculating CTOD. The result indicates that the modified plastic zone model is better than the strip-yield model, the plastic zone model and the modified strip-yield model in calculating CTOD, and CTOD error is reduced from 81 to 90% between the plastic zone model and the experiment to 4–34% between the modified plastic zone model and the experiment, with nearly half of the specimens having an error of less than 10%.

New approach for determining the fracture parameters by electromagnetic-mechanical coupling

This paper introduces a novel method for assessing fracture mechanics parameters such as Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), Energy Release Rate (J) and Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD). An electromagnetic–mechanical coupling (EMC) approach is employed to evaluate and to measure these fracture parameters by monitoring the variation of impedance using eddy currents. This approach relies on the eddy current signal obtained from a sensor, which calculates and verifies SIF parameters along with the J-integral and CTOD through changing the sensor impedance. To ensure theoretical consistency, the magnetic field is theoretically used, formulated and verified. Additionally, a numerical simulation method employing the finite element method is used to analyze and identify cracks in structures and assess their propagation. The quantification of SIF and J-integral parameters is demonstrated using two sensors based on a differential probe. This research paper demonstrates that the proposed method is the most efficient approach for exploring and detecting cracks in materials, as well as understanding their propagation behavior.

Experimental study on mechanical properties and evolution of fracture failure of granite considering initial temperature damage and prefabricated fissure length

With the increasing mining depth of deep mineral resources, the influence of high temperature on the fracture failure of surrounding rock with fissures becomes increasingly serious. To investigate the fracture mechanical properties and the evolutionary characteristics of fracture process of fissured rock experiencing initial temperature damage, the three-point bending experiment was conducted on the small sized granite samples with different initial damaging temperatures and prefabricated fissure lengths by applying a μTS mesoscopic testing system. Based on the digital image correlation methods, the evolution of fracture process zone of sample was revealed. Moreover, the macroscopic fracture failure of sample was predicted by the evolution of time-varying acoustic emission b-value. The results show that with the increase of initial damaging temperature and prefabricated fissure length, the peak load of granite sample has a decreasing trend and the fracture characteristics of sample experiencing initial temperature damage gradually transform from brittleness fracture to ductility fracture, resulting in a decrease in the fracture toughness of sample. The crack tip opening displacement, the critical opening displacement and the length of fracture process zone of sample all show an increasing trend. The time interval from the time when time-varying acoustic emission b-value continues to decline to the appearance moment of macroscopic cracks is selected as the warning time of fracture failure of sample, which can conclude that the warning time increases with increasing the initial damaging temperature and prefabricated fissure length, indicating an increase in ductility and a reduction in failure suddenness of sample.

Effect of loading rate on mode I fracture behavior of red sandstone: Insights from AE and DIC techniques

The loading rate is an essential factor that influences the fracture characteristics and behavior of rock materials. In the study, a series of mode I fracture tests were performed on semi-circular bending (SCB) specimens of red sandstone under a range of static loading rates (0.005 mm/min–2 mm/min). The results showed that fracture toughness increases linearly with the logarithm of loading rates but the critical crack mouth opening displacement (CMODc) almost keeps constant. The fracture processes of rock were monitored using the acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) techniques. The accumulated ringing counts increases with the loading rates at a natural logarithm relationship. The quantitative analysis for RA-AF data reveals that the contribution of shear cracks to mode I fracture increases with the loading rates. Prior to the DIC analysis, the DIC parameters were firstly calibrated by comparing the CMOD obtained from the clip gauge with that from the DIC data. By virtue of the strain and displacement fields, the fracture process, including post-peak fracture behavior, was analyzed using the cohesion zone model (CZM) in detail. Some fracture parameters, such as fracture process zone (FPZ) length and width, critical crack tip opening displacement (CTODc) were identified. The results indicate that FPZ length decreases with the loading rates but FPZ width and CTODc are nearly unaffected. The FPZ length at post-peak stage is lower than that at peak, regardless of the loading rate. Finally, the FPZ length measured by DIC is compared to that estimated by five theoretical models. The results show that the FPZ length calculated by the modified Irwin model is very closed to that from DIC.

Stress Intensity Factor of E-Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites

In order to analyze the stress concentration impact, intensity close to the zone of the crack tip, this work examines the in-plane SIF(SIF) of composite plates utilizing measured crack tip opening displacement (CTOD). The test specimens' E-glass fiber mats were arranged in various ply configurations. The ASTM standards utilized for researching mode I fracture of composite materials served as the foundation for the compact tension (CT) specimen. The mode I, KI Stress intensity factor (SIF), and critical stress, c, were calculated for each specimen along the fracture length propagation based on the experiments. It was found that the SIF is directly proportional with fracture length, or a/W, for all E-glass fiber laminate cases tested. The KIC is often higher in thinner laminates. The presence of woven roving increases the SIF and hence the toughness of the laminate.

Crack-Tip Opening Displacement of Girth Welds in a Lean X70 Pipeline Steel.

Crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) tests were conducted on girth welds of two API 5L X70 pipeline steels (pipe A and pipe B) to investigate the influence of base metal composition on the fracture toughness of the joint. CTOD measurements across the weld showed that the weld fusion zone had the lowest CTOD values for both pipes, with pipe B having a higher CTOD value than pipe A. Detailed microstructure characterization of the multi-pass weld showed that the fusion zone in both pipes consisted of three distinct zones: the columnar zone, the coarse equiaxed zone, and the fine equiaxed zone. Both the columnar zone and coarse-grained equiaxed zone had acicular ferrite and grain boundary ferrite microstructures, whereas the fine-grained equiaxed zone had a finer ferrite microstructure compared to the other two zones. The main difference between the two pipes was the variation in ferrite grain sizes and the volume fractions of grain boundary ferrite and acicular ferrite. In comparison to pipe B, pipe A, with a higher concentration of Mo, Ni, and Cu in both the base metal and the weld fusion zones, consisted of a higher volume fraction of grain boundary ferrite and a lower volume fraction of acicular ferrite in the columnar and coarse-grained equiaxed zones. The lower concentration of Mo, Ni, and Cu in pipe B likely resulted in the formation of a predominantly acicular ferrite microstructure in the fusion zone, thereby improving the toughness of the weld joint in comparison to pipe A.

Investigation of fracture characteristics of cracked granite suffered from different thermal treatments and water-cooling time

Rock mass may be exposed to high temperature and cooled by water in fire, geothermal resource exploitation and deep underground engineering, which affects the safety of these engineering. In this study, cracked straight through Brazilian disc (CSTBD) specimen was used to study the fracture properties of granite treated with different water-cooling time from 25 °C to 800 °C. A camera was used to record the fracture process of the specimen, the evolution of strain at the specimen surface was obtained by using digital image correlation technology, and the morphological characteristics of fracture surface were observed by using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that water-cooling time has some effects on fracture properties of granite, but its effect is less than the temperature. With the increase of water-cooling time, the mode I fracture toughness decreases first, then increases and finally decreases at the same temperature, and the fracture toughness ranges from 0.419 MPa m1/2 to 0.567 MPa m1/2 at 400 °C. The crack tip opening displacement (CTOD), crack propagation path and fracture surface are related to the energy released during the specimen failure. When the temperature is 25 °C or 200 °C, the energy released is large and the fracture surface is relatively flat with irregular sharp edges, the main cracks are straight lines. At 600 °C, the main crack is zigzag, the CTOD and the maximum principal strain in order can reach 0.143 mm and 0.731 %. This study can help to understand the effect of water-cooling time on engineering rock mass.

An Overview of the mechanism-based thermomechanical fatigue method (DTMF) in the design of automotive components

The DTMF damage Parameter described in the paper is the generalization of the creep fatigue parameter (DCF) proposed by Riedel, which quantifies the amount of damage produced by a non-isothermal loading cycle. The entire design methodology is outlined in the text, starting with the calibration of Chaboche's viscoplastic model and then the determination of the thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) parameters. Chaboche is generally a good choice for its ability to describe well both kinematic and isotropic hardening behaviors, also enabling stress relaxation and strain rate dependency to be considered. The DTMF method is based on the fracture mechanics concept of cyclic crack tip opening displacement (ΔCTOD) where the effective stress range takes the crack closure effect into account. This method is typically used to describe the thermomechanical low cycle fatigue behavior of cast irons, cast steels, stainless steels, Inconel, HiSiMo and nickel-based alloys. These materials are used in components that need to withstand high temperatures (higher than half of the melting point) in service as exhaust manifolds, cylinder heads, valves, turbochargers and disk brakes. Three failure mechanisms are detailed here: oxidation, creep and fatigue. Oxidation is a complex phenomenon that may occur when the material is hot under tensile in-phase loading or hot under compressive out-of-phase loading. Creep is a time and temperature dependent diffusion process which is incorporated into the DTMF parameter as a multiplicative factor. In this context fatigue life is defined as the number of cycles to propagate an existent microcrack up to an arbitrary size that is defined on a case-by-case basis.

Experimental Study of the Effect of Wire Electrical Discharge Machining on Crack tip Opening Displacement for Compact Tension Specimens of Low Carbon Steel

Fracture mechanics approach is important for all mechanical and civil projects that might involve cracks in metallic materials the purpose of this paper is to determine a crack tip opening displacement fracture toughness experimentally, also study the effect of thickness on CTOD fracture toughness of low carbon steel and study the effect of Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (WEDM) to have a pre-crack, instead of fatigue pre-crack by using a CT specimen of low carbon steel with a thickness of (8,10, and15 mm), a width of 30mm, crack length of 15mm, and pre-crack of 1.3mm for all samples, this dimension according to ASTM-E399-13, by pulling the specimen in a 100 KN universal testing machine at a slow speed rate of 0.5 mm/min, the load applied on the specimen is generally a tension load. The crack tip plastically deforms until a critical point PC at this moment a crack is initiated. The computer-controlled universal testing machine gives the value of the load and the displacement transducer gives a crack mouth opening displacement. Critical crack tip opening displacement CTOD is found with the plastic hinge model (PHM) method. The result showed the stress intensity factor KI increases with increased loading in the elastic region and the thickness effect refers to the effect of the plastic zone at the crack tip on the stress intensity factor, In a thin specimen, a plastic zone is large at the fracture tip leads to a high-stress intensity factor at the fracture tip but in the thick specimen, on the other hand, has a small a plastic zone and a low-stress intensity factor around the crack tip. The fracture toughness is found to increase with an increase in the thickness of specimens.

Effect of cryogenic conditions on the critical crack tip opening displacement for the laminated material AA2519-AA1050-Ti6Al4V-T62

In the case of operating technical objects in conditions that accelerate material wear, it is necessary to adequately protect the object from the aggressive working environment. There are several possibilities, ranging from applying surface coatings (paint, varnish, galvanic layers) to the use of composites. An example of such a material is a composite formed by explosively welded AA2519, AA1050, and Ti6Al4V alloys. Since the described material is relatively new, its mechanical properties are still being determined. Therefore, in this article, the results of research and their analysis regarding the fracture toughness of the described composite in comparison to the fracture toughness of the base materials in the selected range are presented. The main objective of study was to determine the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) values for the AA2519-AA1050-Ti6Al4V laminated material explosively welded under ambient and cryogenic conditions. The tests were carried out to determine the effect of the aforementioned temperature conditions on selected properties of the tested laminated material. This paper presents the theoretical basis and the adopted testing methodology. The experimental results obtained and their analysis are also presented. Thanks to the analysis, the effect of cryogenic conditions on the value of the crack tip opening displacement was observed. Moreover, the state of knowledge presented in earlier publications on crack tip opening displacement determination for base materials, i.e. AA2519 and Ti6Al4V, has been extended. The paper also presents a CTOD determination procedure for laminated material based on the knowledge on the mechanical properties of the base materials.

Mode I fracture behavior of glass fiber composite-steel bonded interface – Experiments and CZM

Debonding is characterized as the governing failure mode in the innovative wrapped composite joints made with glass fiber composite material wrapped around steel hollow sections without welding. The prerequisite for predicting debonding failure of wrapped composite joints is to obtain fracture behavior of the composite-steel bonded interface. The mode I fracture behavior of the bonded interface was experimentally investigated using glass fiber composite-steel double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens. The crack length a and the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) during the test were accurately measured by analyzing the digital image correlation (DIC) data while the strain energy release rate (SERR) was calculated through the extended global method (EGM). The cohesive zone modeling (CZM) was utilized in the finite element model with the proposal of a four-linear traction-separation law to simulate the mode I fracture process. An approach is introduced to determine the critical stages of the proposed four-linear cohesive law by combining accurate measurements of crack length a and CTOD, along with SERR values. The validity of the four-linear cohesive law and the introduced approach to determine the critical stages were confirmed by good agreement in both global and local behavior between the testing and the FEA results.

Effects of Grain Boundary Misorientation Angle on the Mechanical Behavior of Al Bicrystals

This research article explores the effect of grain boundary (GB) misorientation on the mechanical behavior of aluminum (Al) bicrystals by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The effect of GB misorientation on the mechanical properties, fracture resistance, and crack propagation are evaluated under monotonic and cyclic load conditions. The J-integral and the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) are assessed to establish the effect of the GB misorientation angle on the fracture resistance. The simulations reveal that the misorientation angle plays a significant role in the mechanical response of Al bicrystals. The results also evidence a gradual change in the mechanical behavior from brittle to ductile as the misorientation angle is increased.

Fracture properties evaluation of structural adhesives using the dual actuator test frame and digital image correlation technique

ABSTRACT This paper implements a dual actuator testing protocol to evaluate the fracture behavior of a toughened epoxy adhesive under mode I and mixed mode I+II loading conditions. Digital image correlation is used to monitor crack propagation and assess adherend and adhesive deformations. A good repeatability between the test results is observed for both failure modes (I and I+II). The constitutive law is obtained by evaluating the J-integral while measuring the crack tip opening displacement. Different mixed mode test strategies are developed in this work. First, an actuator load control protocol is implemented so as to propagate the crack under constant mixed mode I+II ratio and evaluate the fracture envelope of the studied adhesive, which turns out to be adequately described by the Gong-Benzeggagh failure criterion. A second strategy is proposed with a variable mixed mode ratio during the experiment for faster investigation. Using this technique, stable fracture energy values are recorded along the crack propagation path, thus leading to very fast and accurate results.

3D-printed highly stretchable curvy sandwich metamaterials with superior fracture resistance and energy absorption

This paper focuses on the potential of curvy mechanical metamaterials to show how topological design can significantly enhance fracture toughness along the in-plane and out-of-plane (through-depth) directions. The conventional re-entrant unit cell is first reformulated by introducing local curvy ligaments and then additively manufactured by three-dimensional (3D) printing to form a center/edge-notch lattice metamaterial. The new conceptual design provides multi-stiffness unit cells, helping to control stress distribution within a structure under tensile load, specifically in the vicinity of the notches where stress concentrations occur. In other words, curvy unit cells are capable of arresting and blunting the notch under tensile loads and toughening the metamaterials. The crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) method calculates the fracture toughness. Not only can the fracture of lattice metamaterials be controlled along the in-plane direction by replacing unit cells in the sensitive parts of the metamaterials, but a new assembly method is also proposed. This offers that different thin plates of metamaterials with different layouts can be sandwiched to control out-of-plane fracture propagation (through-depth propagation of opening mode fracture) for the first time in fracture mechanics. This novel sandwiching method offers a multi-step fracture and significantly improves the fracture behavior of the lattice metamaterials from brittle to ductile by taking advantage of multiple through-thickness thin plates instead of considering one thick specimen. A detailed analysis of the effects of the ligament curvature value on the fracture behavior is presented. The results reveal that the more curvature, the more extension (ductility) will be realized, but too large curvature design can provide lower energy absorption capacity.

Isothermal and thermo-mechanical fatigue-crack-growth analysis of XH73M nickel alloy

In service-power engineering and aviation, gas-turbine engine structures are operated at elevated temperatures and under extensive variable mechanical loading, which is classified as thermomechanical fatigue (TMF). This coupling effect leads to flaw initiation and growth in components fabricated from thermally resistant nickel-based alloys. This paper presents experimental crack-growth data for isothermal pure fatigue, in-phase and out-of-phase TMF conditions. A crack-growth testing method is developed using inductive heating/forced convective cooling and direct crack-tip opening displacement techniques. The crack-growth experimental results are interpreted based on finite element analyses of the stress–strain rate fields at the crack tip under TMF conditions. Therefore, multi-physics numerical calculations are employed for the interaction of the heat loss from magnetic-field eddy currents with forced convective air cooling through a computer fluid dynamics model, which presents a nonuniform mechanical elastic–plastic stress distribution. Consequently, the dependence of the new nonlinear stress intensity factors on the crack length are obtained for each of the isothermal and thermomechanical cyclic deformation conditions. The polycrystalline XH73M nickel-based alloy tests performed show that, from the crack-growth acceleration viewpoint, the following order of arrangement of fatigue fracture diagrams is formed: isothermal pure fatigue, in-phase TMF, out-of-phase TMF, and isothermal pure fatigue at T = 400 °C and T = 23 °C. The differences and corresponding conclusions based on the interpretation of the experimental results of the crack growth rate characteristics at elevated temperatures in terms of elastic and nonlinear fracture resistance parameters are discussed.

Influence of specimen geometry on the energy release rate in concrete

The energy release rate during the crack propagation in concrete was studied using three-point bending (TPB) beams with different geometries. Expressions for determining the energy release rate were established. A total of 44 beams, i.e., TPB specimens with the height of 150 mm and various spans and the same span of 800 m but different heights, named as Series-T and Series-TH, respectively, were tested. The obtained results reveal that (1) with the crack propagation, the energy release rate curves (GR-curves) monotonically increased and convergence to the fracture energy of each specimen, and the average values were 161.136 N/m and 112.343 N/m for Series-T and Series-TH. (2) For Series-T, with increasing the specimen span from 300 mm to 900 mm, the maximum fracture process zone (FPZ) length kept constant of 68.317 mm, and for Series-TH, the result increased by 187.6 % with increasing the specimen height from 100 mm to 300 mm. Moreover, the relative FPZ length was not affected by the spans and depths of the specimens. (3) The evolution of crack tip opening displacement was only affected by the specimen ligament length, i.e. for the same crack extension length, a larger value was noticed for longer ligament length. (4) The stability during crack propagation can be analyzed using GR-curves.